Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1887-04-22
COMMUNICATED.
FLORENCE HOTEL. SAN DIEGO CAL.

noon my eye feasts on picture OF rare Deau-
ty. The town, with its beautifully graded
streets and slightly buildings, the .glistening
waters of the fair bay Of San Diego with here
n steamer, there an immense sailing vessel or
tiny yacht, just over the bay the peninsula
that has caused such furore in real estate
circles in the past twelvemonth' and oeyono
nothing but water, water, water. Even now
can hear the roar Of the breakers as they
beat upon the beach-excellent surf bathing
there. doubt very much II any of your boys
have been In swimming this spring, yet here
they have been bathing off and on all winter.
I believe IL is claimed that salt water does not
subject person to cold. Well, perhaps not,
Int should not like to risk Ii with the Their
mometer registering 70 degrees, that Is the
average temperature OF this immediate ell
mate for the year, and friends who live here
say IL rarely gets above S0degrees in summer.
lust think of this poor, sweltering humanity,
a few months hence, and take the advice OF
H. G. and go West.
Coronado Beach a year ago wasa wilder
ness of sage. chapparal and greece BUSH an
excellent hunting ground but no place OF
beauty to ar ordinary eye. But behold the
wisdom of q handful Of men. They bought IL
for $1,000. You look aghast sodid most ev-
erv one. They employed hundreds of Chinese,
who cleaned the land, leaving here and there
q green bush TO break the monotony. they
have spared no expense have worked haro'
are still working, and what Is the result :
Over three hundred people live in the pretty
cottages scattered SO picturesquely over the
ground. motor railway has been lald from
the bay side to the ocean, a distance OF one
mile and a-half; handsome ferry boat pies
between San Diego and the Peninsula every
twenty minutes, makes close connection
with the motor train, and in ten minutes you
are safely landed "where the tide comes In"
The grounds are beautifully laid out. Fine
wide avenues bordered on either side with
orange and evergreen trees; magnificent
hotel is being erected to cost when finished,
including the furniture, about a-half million
of dollars. There will be over 800 rooms and
every convenience that modern taste and in
genuity can suggest. Over one million dol
lars worth Of lots have already been sold. The
average daily sales for March were sl1,22s''o'
Such Is Coronado Beach of to-day. 1t has GER
tainly brilliant future and bids fair to be
the Newport of the Pacific coast. gentle
man from the East recently offered slOO,OOO for
twenty-fo fourth interest and was refused. DO
not for q moment think that during all this
excitement on the Peninsula It's neighbor, the
town of San Diego, was meekly standing by
with folded hands like devout young QUA
keress. Nothing of the kind; she has had an
unprecedented boom and the boom contin-
ues. 1t is no trouble TO select in crowd
those who did and those who did not profit
by the rise In real estate. The former gener-
ally wears broad smile and very often wears
IL aloud takes you by the shoulder If you"
happen to be man and shouts out: Didn't
/ tell you so? This town is bound to grow
talk about Los Angeles having the lead9 Why
man, remember Sacramento laughing at
the idea of San Francisco becoming a city
and now look at her. ! tell you we are get
ting there fast. Bound to grow, bound to
grow" and on he goes whilst his more unfor-
tunate brother assures with l-know-what-
Lam talki ng-about look out of his melan-
choly eyes that there is "sure to be collapse,
property too high, beyond all reason man
is fool to throw his money away. Nothing
but bay and climate, back country no good,
got no water" Then If you are posted you
tell him "ah yes, but considerable OF that back
country is very valuable, for the Flume Com
pany, capital Sl,00O,0OU, are going TO bring the
water down from the Cuyamaca mountains,
fifty-four miles distant. and will thus supply
the town with god, pure water and have
enough to irrigate thousands OF acres OF
land" For q moment he is staggered, then
rallying all his forces he gives more reso-
flute shake of his head, says: "Dont believe
Of 10 xtyill
water here" And SO 1t goes from one ex-
IRENE to another. The thought just suggest
ed itself that perhaps you might like to know
something Of this "Flume." A friend who
had never heard the term before asked If 1t
was something good to eat. said no; but 1t
was expected to carry something very good to
drink. 1t is, in fact, a huge trough made OF
California red wood, one OF the most durable
of woods, and has been known to last over
fifty years. For ten or twelve miles back Of
San Diego there are thousands Of acres OF
beautiful table-land, excellent soil, but I'M
like the valleys where irrigation is unneces-
sary. These must be watered, and this the
Flume Company propose doing. My hus-
band, who Is largely interested in this Flume,
having his share Of curiosity, started with
three other gentlemen to visit this great res
ervoir whose wonderful quantity OF water
was to make this so called worthless back
country valuable" 1 will give you his expe-
rience as he gave IL to me:
''The first day was lovely. Never sky more
blue or sun more bright. The scenery as we
drew near the mountains was very beauti-
full, and now and then a rabbit ran across the
road or the whirr Of a covey of quail would
occasion halt while we gave them a shot or
two. We reached the Dlverting Dam about
$50 p. M, just thirty-siX miles from San Die
go, where we stopped for the night. The next
morning we visited the Dam; as its name sig
miles it's purpose is TO direct the water in
different channels. 1t is well built OF stone
and cement, is fifty feet in height and thirty
feet through at the base. At a. m. we re-
sumed our Journey. We soon found the road
consisted merely Of q trail winding in and
out and round about, and rough! Well, 1t
beat all the West Virginia roads ever trav.
eled, and so steep 1t was awful. Without q
word We all climbed out, preferring to walk
and lead the horses to such a perilous ride.
On the one side rose the mountains straight
up and on the other, II makes me shudder 10
think Of 1t, was precipice ofseveral hundred
ieet WAS III not enough 10 Inaf>e the stoutesl
heart quail? AL went we'll for about nine
miles when In going around a sharp curve the
wagon struck a rock and snap went the
double-tree. Now here was a predicament.
No house within miles, nothing to be seen
but the winding down behind us and the up,
up, up in front, the cliff to the left and the
awful precipice below. But nobly we went
to work and cut down young pine tree with
our pen-knives (no one OF the party had
forethought enough to bring hatchet), cut a
stick about the length we supposed necessa-
ry, as we couldn't well drag the tree down
the mountain to measure 1t, and proceeded
to TX the wagon when to our intense disgust
we found the stick too short. Well, we got
another, fixed the wagon and proceeded
without further delay and with as much
haste as possible for we saw a storm coming.
We reached the home Of Mr.. Morris about
$50 p. m. (having made but eleven miles
since morning) Just as the storm, like howl